Erik

Ainge

Ainge had a nondescript week of practice, but led the South on a game-winning, 14-play drive that ended on Florida WR Andre Caldwell’s two-yard end around score. The injury prone Ainge projects as a second-day pick.

Ainge, who wasn’t active for a game as a rookie, has no known excuse. The program is voluntary, but Ainge isn’t helping himself by skipping out. He’ll be directly on the roster bubble if the Jets draft a QB later this month.

The Jets could pull the trigger on a Josh Freeman at No. 17 overall, but they are counting heavily on Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff after failing to land Jay Cutler. A rookie might only push Erik Ainge for the No. 3 role.

Ainge’s uncle Danny recently suffered a mild heart attack, but Erik had been skipping workouts for “personal reasons” even before that. He’s currently the Jets’ third QB behind Kellen Clemens and first-round pick Mark Sanchez.

Ryan still expects Ainge to be on the team entering training camp, though he may not make the opening-day roster if the Jets draft another quarterback.

The Jets are relatively healthy heading into the divisional matchup against the Pats. Kellen Clemens is healthy enough to backup starter Mark Sanchez.

Detroit did a nice job of getting something for nothing here; GM Martin Mayhew is using his No. 1 waiver priority wisely. From the Jets’ perspective, the move may signal the end of the Kellen Clemens experiment. Erik Ainge was more productive in preseason games. O’Connell will likely be third string.

David Clowney will start opposite Braylon Edwards, while Dwight Lowery will start opposite Darrelle Revis. There are no surprises on this list.

Danny’s nephew had an up-and-down career as basically a four-year starter at Tennessee, but is smart, accurate, and possesses ideal size at 6'6/225. Ainge isn’t a candidate to start for New York this year, but it is quite possible that he’ll emerge as a better option than Kellen Clemens down the road.

That doesn’t say much for Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens. Ratliff obviously has no shot at winning the starting job, but it will be interesting to see if the team cuts pedestrian fifth-rounder Erik Ainge in order to keep the former Utah star.